


Behind The Wire

by WallMixer



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 16:10:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14877059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WallMixer/pseuds/WallMixer





	Behind The Wire

Title: Behind the Wire  
by WallMixer  
  
Summary:

In a cruel twist of fate a college student is suddenly turned into a small colorful pony. He is now held captive by a group of scientists who subject him to repeated unethical experiments, and leave him at the mercy of an abusive handler, with his only social contact being the pony in the cage next to him.

  
  
Published at: 2017-04-06  
Revised at: 2017-04-12 08:00:00 -0400  
  


>Be at collage  
>Heading to Biochem lab  
>I take a short cut through the service corridor  
>Hand lands in something sticky  
>Hand starts to burn  
>Entire body starts to burn and itch  
>Hands cramp into a fist  
>Pain courses through my entire body  
>I fall to the ground  
>My Hands have begun to fuse into nubs  
>I notice technicolor fur growing on my arm  
>I open my mouth and start to scream  
>I feel my bones shifting inside me  
>there's a sharp pain in my shoulders  
>something is pushing through my back  
>something else is forming above my butt  
>The nubs are hardening into hooves  
>My screams are turning into neighs  
>The effects come to an end, leaving me as a small winged pony  
>I continue to neigh for help  
>A pair of researcher step out of a door  
>I try to run when I see the syringe in their hand  
>Leap to my feet only to fall back down  
>They grab hold of me  
>I toss and turn  
>in the end they subdue me  
>The needles pierces my skin  
>I suddenly feel myself drifting off to sleep  
>Just before it all goes dark I feel them lifting me up and throwing me over their shoulder  
>I start to wake up  
>My side hurts and I'm still groggy from the injection  
>As I start to sit up I notice the metal cage I'm in, I appear to be in a dark room  
>A kennel of some sort  
>My bedding consists of a single old towel  
>A bowl of water and what looks like food have been provided  
>I squint to get a better look at it  
>It looks like hay pellets  
>Panic starts to set in  
>I open my mouth to call out  
"Neigh!"  
>I'm a fucking horse  
"Neigh!"  
>Nononononononononon  
>No!  
"Neigh!"  
>I begin kicking the cage door as hard as I can  
>Let me out!  
“Neigh!”  
>Let me out, I want to go home  
“Neigh! neigh… neigh”  
>I slump against the door and begin to cry  
>After a few moments I hear a soft nicker from the adjacent cage  
>I turn, and through my tears I see a dark blue unicorn staring at me  
>He sticks his nose through a gap in our mutual prison and nickers again  
>I get the impression he’s inviting me to nuzzle him  
>I shift over and press my nose against his  
>He begins to blow air through his nose, and I respond in kind  
>We enter into something of a controlled breathing exercise  
>Between that and his company I start to calm back down  
>Enough that I notice his eyes  
>His eyes reveal a great deal of sympathy  
>And pain  
>He knows exactly what I’m going though  
>He went through it before  
>I nicker at him  
>He pulls his head back slightly and nods  
>He gives a quit snort before nuzzling me again  
>It doesn’t get better  
>We lay there, noses pressed through the cage, exchanging various horse noises until we both fall asleep  
>I don’t know how long he’s been here, but he still falls asleep crying  
>So do I

 

>I wake up to the sound of a lock followed by harsh florescent light  
>My unicorn neighbor is still nuzzled up nose to nose with me  
>He gives a melancholy puff  
>I guess this is life now  
“Good morning little ponies!”  
>My friend pulls his ears back as his eyes go wide with terror  
>I hear the sound of metal on metal, followed by the crackle of electricity  
>My friend sifts as far back into his cage as he can  
>He tilts his head back and flick his ear, he wants me to fallow him  
>The sound comes again  
>He recoils at it before repeating his motion, more urgently this time  
>I start to turn away to get a better view  
>Out of the corner of my eye I see him shaking his head frantically  
>I move to the front of my pen and look out  
>There is a young man, mid to late twenties maybe?  
>He’s dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and carrying a cattle prod  
>He’s walking down the row of cages, taping the prod to each door as he goes  
>The ponies across the aisle are cowering at the back, most of them press against their neighbors through the cage  
>The man sees me and grins  
“Well, well look who woke up. I see you’ve met Moonglow. Now how about your name?”  
>I open my mouth and give him a defiant neigh  
>He gives a demeaning laugh  
“Are you really that stupid? Do you think I know or care what you just said?”  
>He sticks the prod up against my neck  
>The pain sends me sprawling  
>He holds the current for several seconds before relenting for a moment  
>He continues to laugh as he drives me to the back of the cage  
>Once there he doesn’t stop, he continues to prod and zap me, Laughing the entire time  
>I’m going to die  
>I start to cry and squeal as I spasms under the electric shock  
>In my panicked throws my wings come unfurled  
“What are you gonna do? Fly away”  
>He presses my wing hard, pining it to the wall and breaking the skin  
>He holds the trigger down  
>My wings spasms violently, it feels like it’s going to tear itself off  
>He doesn’t relent this time  
>He holds me here, kicking and squealing  
>Finally he pulls the prod away  
“Now about your name, I was thinking Lightningbolt. How’s that sound?”  
>All I can manage are sobs as I press myself into a corner  
>He starts to laugh again as he continues down the row  
>Moonglow nudges me through the cage  
>I don’t try to read his face as I press myself against the divider  
>He doesn’t make a sound until the man leaves  
>The man went down the row, then turned and headed back up the opposite wall  
>I heard him kick one of the cages before going back through the door  
>I just pressed myself against the divider as Moonglow pushes back  
>Is this what my life is now?  
>Just being tortured for his amusement  
>If that’s all it’s going to be why live at all?  
>My life is basically over  
>I’ll never complete college  
>I will never raise a family  
>I won’t ever see my family again  
>Even if I did my family wouldn’t even recognize me  
>My own mother would only see some horse monstrosity  
>She’ll never hug me again  
>Mommy  
>I want my mommy  
>I want to go home and hug her  
“Neigh!”  
>I can’t even call for my mom  
>I degenerate back into a sobbing heap  
>Moonglow nuzzles my neck and begins to blow into me again  
>I cry out several times, for my mom, for help, for anyone  
>All that came out was a cacophony of horse noises  
>Moonglow nickers in reply  
>He’s here  
>I turn and look at him  
>All we have are each other  
>I nod and try to regain control of my emotions  
>Once I’ve calmed down a little I press my nose through the cage and nicker at him  
>He presses his snout to mine and we resume the breathing exercises from last night  
>After a while my fear and despair fade enough that I become aware of my needs  
>Namely that I’m extremely thirsty  
>I pull away from Moonglow and turn to the water dish that has been provided  
>It’s a simple steel pet bowl  
>As I contemplate the indignity of this it occurs to me that I could refuse to drink or eat  
>I then recall watching something about how painful force feeding can be  
>That man seems to get off on watching others suffer, I won’t give him an excuse to hurt me  
>I stick my mouth into the water and begin to suck it in  
>The cold water feels good in my dry mouth, and helps with the sore throat I’ve developed  
>Once I’ve quenched my thirst my hunger demands my attention  
>I turn to the food bowl and inspect it  
>It’s full of little pellets, like scaled up rabbit food  
>After sniffing it I decide that it probably won’t taste too bad  
>I take a mouth full and begin to chew  
>Well I was not wrong  
>It’s not bad, it just bland  
>All the flavor of cardboard, and the texture of sawdust  
>I eat a bit more and then take another drink of water  
>I make a point to save some, I don’t know when I’ll be fed next  
>I look around my confinement  
>On one side is the grated wall separating me from Moonglow, the other side is solid metal along with the back wall and ceiling  
>The ceiling is High enough for me to stand, or hold my head up, not both. The cage generally seems rather small for something my size, about three foot tall and wide, three and a half-ish deep?  
>Maybe closer to four  
>My hart starts to sink when I notice the floor  
>It’s covered in small holes and slops towards a central drain  
>This gives me the distinct impression that I will not be let out to use the restroom  
>I turn back to Moonglow and look him over  
>He’s a dark blue unicorn with a stark white mane and tail, looking over his body I can make out small scars from the prod, looking along his underside I see something far more disturbing  
>A straight scar beginning in front of his thigh and running under his body  
>I know what that is, it didn’t come from random violence  
>Someone had performed surgery on him, recently  
>Within the past three months  
>I glance at him and back to his scar  
>He gives a slow somber nod  
>Oh fuck  
>I’m a lab animal aren’t I  
>I have taken three years of Bio systems  
>I know what happens to lab animals in ethical experiments  
>And I seriously doubt these people are ethical  
>The door opens again  
>It’s a different man, this one’s got a lab coat on  
>I don’t recognize him, but he’s looking straight at me  
>He stops right in front of my pen  
>To my surprise Moonglow seems happy to see him  
>He steps closer to the cage and pulls something from his pocket  
“Here you go ‘glow”  
>He furtively passes it to Moonglow  
>Moonglow happily chews it  
>The man turns to me  
“Hey there Lightning, it’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you”  
>He passes me something  
>Apprehensively I take it  
>It’s an apple wedge  
“See, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry Nick got to you first”  
>So Nick is the guy from earlier?  
>He gives me another apple wedge  
“I’m going to do my best to keep you safe, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”  
>I appraise him for a second before nodding  
>What have I got to lose at this point?  
“Glad to hear it Lighting, I’m going to open the cage now”  
>The lock on the cage clicks off and the door swings open  
>He slips a collar around my neck and picks me up  
>I found something extremely comforting in begin held by him  
>He positions me so that I’m looking over his shoulder as he begins to pet me  
>I let myself sink into his shoulder as he slowly strokes my neck  
“I’ll do what I can to help you”  
>I believe him, for the most part  
“Don’t worry Glow, he’s coming back in an hour or so. They’re just checking him in”  
>I hear the cage click shut and he turns and walks back to the door  
>I take the opportunity to take in the room  
>The room is long and narrow, kennels line both sides  
>The kennels are on wheels, each one holds four cages, two on the top two on the bottom  
>Some of the ponies have come to the front of their cage, probably hoping for a piece of apple  
>The aisle was sloped into a long drain in the floor  
>To the back is a storage area with a large sink and a hose  
>While the cages where well maintained the room it’s self is rather dirty  
>What I hope is mud and dirt coat the yellow linoleum floor, ceiling tiles are missing in several places  
>Moonglow neighs as I am carried out the door, I reply in kind just before it closes behind us  
“My names Kyle by the way, I’d call you by yours but they make a point to keep that kind of thing from me”  
>I contemplate trying to bail for a moment  
>It then occurs to me that I have no hands, I can’t talk, and I have no idea what the layout of this place is  
>Kyle said he would help me, maybe he’ll help me get out?  
>In ether event I’ll wait  
>He turns into another room  
>This one’s small, with a metal table in the center  
>Kyle sets me down and hooks my leash into a clamp above it  
>The leash was not long to begin with, and I’m left with no option but to stand in place  
>There is a mirrored window I can see my reflection in  
>I’m now a grey Pegasus with an electric blue mane  
>How did they even do this  
>I turn back to Kyle and see that he is busy prepping equipment  
>He said it wouldn’t be long, so that should rule out anything to invasive  
>’Checking me in’ will probably amount to an exam, not sure what else though  
>The door opens and someone else walks in  
>I recognize him, he was one of the men who abducted m  
>”Morning Kyle, what did you name this one?”  
“Nick named him, Lightning Bolt”  
>The man nods apathetically  
>”Still not finished setting up I see”  
“Sorry sir, it took me a little longer to get him in here”  
>The man gives a frustrated sigh  
>”This is a laboratory, not a petting zoo.”  
“I know sir, it won’t happen again”  
>I glare at him when he turns to me  
>He cocks an eye as he reaches into a drawer  
>He pulls out a muzzle and blind fold  
>”Let’s make sure you don’t try anything funny”  
>Fuck you  
>I snort at him as I pull my head away  
>He grabs me by the scruff of my neck and holds me in place  
>I thrash back and forth as he struggles to get the muzzle over my snout  
>It was a losing battle, he forces it over my head and pulls the straps as tight as they can go  
>The muzzle presses my jaw shut, and a strap running across my nose makes it difficult to breath  
>It presses in on my nostrils, forcing me to take frequent raspy breaths  
>”Well now that you’re both done wasting my time I suppose I can start”  
>I can’t see what he’s doing as he begins his work  
>He places what I assume to be a stethoscope against my side  
>After that he begins to methodically poke and prod me  
>He checks my legs, my wings, my neck  
>His hands are cold  
>He moves back to my genitals  
>His hands are so cold  
>"Who's he next to?"  
"Moonglow sir"  
>"And is Moonglow intact?"  
"Uhh yes. why do you ask?"  
>"A social experiment I've been thinking about. I'll run it by the administration"  
>The exam continues, Kyle only speaks when spoken to, and the other man is rather taciturn  
>After a while I feel a wet patch of cloth pressed up against my neck  
>The aroma of rubbing alcohol wafts up to my nose  
>Kyle whispers into my ear  
“Sorry Lightning”  
>I then feel a large needle press through my neck and into my jugular  
>I whence as I feel blood being drawn out  
>at first I thought it was just a sample  
>But it keeps going on and on  
>I start to feel light headed  
>My body slumps forward, held up only by the collar around my neck  
>Just when I’m on the verge of losing conciseness they pull the needle out and press down on the site  
>I barely register the next series of injections  
>Though I can’t see through the blindfold I get the distinct impression that the world is spinning  
>I feel them unfurling my wing  
>Panic takes hold when I hear the sound of scissors  
>I try to struggle, but even sight movement makes me feel like I’ll pass out  
>The man chuckles  
>”Much easier to manage now aren’t you?”  
>My body tenses in anticipation for what’s about to happen  
>I feel the scissors make contact with my wings  
>There’s two clips in sort succession  
>No pain?  
>They release my wing and move to the other one  
>The process is repeated on the other side  
>Still no pain?  
>They continue doing something, I don’t really care what  
>After a while I hear a mechanical buzz  
>The flip my ear inside out and hold it flat as they apply a tattoo  
>after they finish with that they undo the leash and let me flop, unceremoniously onto the metal tabletop  
“I’ll take lightning back to the kennels”  
>”No I will, you clean up here”  
>I feel like I’m going to throw up as he lifts me over his shoulder  
>After a moment I hear the click of a lock and am deposited back into a cage  
>I take a deep breath as he pulls the muzzle off  
>The cage clicks shut, leaving me in the darkness of the blindfold  
>I hear him walk away and close the door  
>Moonglow nickers to get my attention  
>I manage a weak reply and press my nose through the bars  
>He starts to nuzzle me but my blood starved brain quickly slips into unconsciousness

 

>Something wet is on my nose  
>I hear Moonglow nicker and snort  
>He nudges me several times  
>I feel like I’m about to black out as I lift my head up  
>He nudges me to the front of the cage  
>What does he want me to do there?  
>I groan at him  
>He nudges me again and then chatters his teeth  
>Food?  
>Probably not a bad idea  
>I shift my head around until I find the bowl  
>It’s surprising how good the pellets are  
>I quickly wolf down what remained from breakfast  
>The food makes me feel a little better and I turn my attention to the water  
>As I lap at the bowl someone comes into the room  
>I track the foot falls as they come in front of me  
>I make a wary withdrawal as the cage door clicks and swings open  
>A hand presses on my back holding me in place  
>They stick a needle in me and administer another injection  
>They pull the syringe back out and then pull my blindfold off  
>I look up and see Kyle holding up an empty syringe  
“Just a little something for the shock, you’ll be alright”  
>Why are you doing this?  
>I give a sickly neigh  
“Just hang in there, hopefully this will all be over soon”  
>He strokes my neck for a moment before closing the cage again  
>Taking my feed tray, he heads to the back of the room  
>A moment later he sips a full tray into my cage  
“They said it will only be a year or two, then you’ll be free.”  
>I’m not sure if he’s delusional or lying  
>The thought crosses my mind that he could be part of their plan  
“I have to go now. We’re doing good work here, you’ll see”  
>Probably deluded  
>Whatever he gave me is doing the trick though  
>I still feel weak, but I’m no longer on the verge of passing out.  
>Unfortunately I’m now aware of the discomfort in my wings and ear  
>Moving to the side of the cage I extend the wing as far as it can go  
>The first six primary fathers have been cut  
>It doesn’t hurt per se, but it’s extremely irritating  
>It’s difficult to resist the urge to chew on it as I turn my attention to my ear  
>I give it an experimental flick  
>The pain is mild but confirms my tattoo theory  
>I press my face against the divider and nicker to get Moonglow’s attention  
>He sits up and turns to me  
>I angle my head towards him and flick my ear again  
>He squints for a moment, then nods and shows me his  
>0238 Moonglow  
>I sincerely hope that’s just a random number  
>I look back out into the kennel  
>A quick tally brings me to six kennels on the opposite side  
>I remember from earlier that they were even, and each kennel had room for four  
>I crunch the numbers  
>48 ponies  
>People!  
>They are people  
>So am I  
>But about forty-eight people have gone missing and no one has noticed?  
>The town may have a college in it, but it’s not big by any stretch of the imagination  
>I rack my brain but can’t think of any people who have gone missing  
>They have must have moved us all  
>But why?  
>What are they getting out of this?  
>Is this all for blood?  
>I turn back to Moonglow  
>They took something out of him  
>If this was black-market organs they wouldn’t have made us ponies  
>Kyle said they were doing good work  
>Blood, organs, Ponies…  
>How is this good work?  
>How does anyone benefit from this at all?  
>Why?  
>I stare at Moonglow  
>He doesn’t know either  
>He sticks his nose through the divider again  
>I nuzzle him and cry quietly  
>At least I have him  
>We lay face to face, rubbing what little of our noses we can get though the cage  
>Occasionally one of us would sigh, or nicker  
>After a while my body’s needs started to make themselves known  
>I did my best to ignore them but inevitably I would have to address them  
>After holding it for as long as I could the pain was becoming hard to bear  
>I pulled away from Moonglow and spared a glance at the drain  
>Moonglow gave me an empathetic look and turned his head  
>I sigh and position myself over the drain  
>Head held low in shame I begin to relieve myself  
>It drags on for what seems like forever  
>Finally it stops and I turn back to Moonglow  
>I let out a long sigh to indicate I’m done and he turns back around  
>My eyes drop immediately after he looks at me  
>He gives a blow of encouragement to get me to look back up  
>He has a sympathetic smile on his face  
>I give a small thankful sniff and move back to the divider  
>He joins me and we attempt to cuddle through the bars  
>We pressed our cheeks together and rubbed against the grate  
>The feel of soft warm fur was sharply contrasted by the cold hard wire dividing us  
>I want to hug him, snuggle with him, wrap my wings around him and take a nap on soft grass  
>The steel divider denies us all but the most rudimentary contact, and an old rag is all that separates me from the cold sheet steel floor of the pen  
>Eventually we both slump down, bodies pressed hard against each other  
>We both stare idly out of our confines  
>Other people come in and out  
>Some only take notes, others administer shots and other drugs  
>Every now and then they would take a pony out of their cage  
>Every time their neighbor would call out after them  
>Time passed on  
>Nick came in and went about his work with his usual cruelty  
>Kyle also came in, sometimes he had actual business in here, others he just slipped food to some of us and walked back out  
>I began watching the others  
>Most of us had a cellmate, separated by a divider  
>Just about all of us seemed rather attached to them  
>Frequently ponies would nuzzle and cuddle through the bars  
>A mint green pony catches my eye  
>She has no horn or wings, and no friend next to her  
>I watch her for some time  
>She just sits their rubbing her head against the divider  
>Every time the door opened she would look out  
>Occasionally she would neigh and wait for a response  
>A reply never came and she would go back to rubbing the bars  
>Eventually the activity started to slow down  
>I counted the ponies as they were returned to their cages  
>By the time they turned the lights off for the night, seven had been returned  
>Based on my reckoning that left three unaccounted for  
>Five neighs went out, calling for their companions  
>Then a long moment of silence.  
>Suppressed weeping cut through the darkness  
>The voice of the green mare stood out among them  
>She sobbed loudly, occasionally letting out a desperate neigh  
>Her cries continued long after the others fell silent  
>Finally she faltered and fell quiet, leaving the room in silent darkness  
>A cold chill ran down my spine, causing me to press hard against Moonglow  
>He Nuzzled me through the bars  
>I can’t lose him, he’s all I have  
>I try to put this from my mind and sleep  
>Time stretches on and eventually the darkness in the room comes into my head  
>I can’t lose Moonglow

>The door clicks open and the lights come on  
>I press my eyes shut to shield them from the harsh synthetic lighting  
>After a moment someone taps gently on my cage  
>Kyles voice speaks  
“Hey Lightning, it’s time to get up. You ready for day two?”  
>Not unless day two involves Moonglow and I being released  
>Moonglow, for his part was sitting up next to me  
“Come on, have some breakfast. It will be a quiet day today”  
>I lift myself up and take a bite of food  
>He reaches through the bars and scratches my head  
“There we go, that wasn’t so hard was it?”  
>He walks away satisfied as I eat the bland pellets  
>Chasing them with a mouth full of water I turn back to Moonglow  
>An idea hits me  
>I can’t talk, but I could still mouth words to him  
>Grinning I start to mouth “Hello”  
>My mouth started to malfunction after the first syllable  
>I tried again with the same result  
>Taking it slowly I try again  
>For whatever reason my mouth just stops working after the “He” sound  
>Moonglow shakes his head, giving me an “I’ve already tried” look  
>Alright they’ve done something to my mouth, there are other ways to communicate  
>I don’t know if Moonglow knows it, but I can try Morse code  
>I click my hoof against the steel bar  
>Satisfied with the sound I begin to tap out “Hello”  
>I don’t even make it though “H” before I lose my rhythm  
>Once again, slower this time  
>Same result, it devolves into random tapping almost instantly  
>Based on Moonglows confused expression he either does not know Morse code, or I am so far off that it is unrecognizable  
>Probably both  
>I have another idea  
>I’m worried though  
>If I manage to screw it up there’s something wrong with my brain  
>I sit there for a moment, if they’ve fucked my brain up I may as well know now  
>Lifting my hoof I make a vertical line in the air  
>I start to make a horizontal line when my hoof suddenly drops  
>The rogue extremity flails around for a moment before I regain control  
>Dejected, I rest my head against the divider  
>Moonglow nuzzles my forehead and snorts softly  
>What did they do to us?  
>They put some kind of block in my brain that keeps me from using words  
>But I can still understand what they are saying, how is that even possible?  
>How is any of this possible?  
>I wallow in my misery before resolving to find a better way to communicate with Moonglow  
>Most of the morning was spent experimenting with different modes of communication  
>It was somewhat comforting to find that most forms of body language where fair game  
>We tried to pantomime, but without context we were limited in our subject matter  
>I did my best to show him how I was abducted after a few attempts he nodded  
>He mimed drinking something, then falling over, he then flailed for a moment before pressing his hoof against his neck  
>So he got roofied?  
>I do my best impression of spiking a drink  
>He shrugs and nods  
>I try to ask him what they do here, but I have a hard time coming up motions  
>Eventually I gesture to the door and then mime desk work  
>It takes him a moment, then a spark of comprehension shines in his face  
>He expression quickly darkens as he thinks of a response  
>Just as he begins to mime Kyle walks up and opens his door  
“Moonglow has an appointment today, he’ll be back tomorrow”  
>Tomorrow?  
>What are they going to do to him?  
>Is this because of me, do they not like us miming?  
>Kyle pulls Moonglow from his pen  
>I press against my door and neigh after him  
>Kyle quickly absconds with him over his shoulder  
>Moonglow neighs a reply just before the door closes behind him  
>Moonglow  
>I slump against the divider  
>Please, bring him back  
>I won't do it again  
>Just bring him back  
>...  
>I stick my nose into Moonglows pen  
>Though he is gone his sent still lingers  
>Pressing my eyes tightly together, I focus on the smell  
>Try as I might, I can’t get passed the fact that my only companion was gone  
>The metal cage seems colder than usual  
>The steel bars harder  
>The lights harsher  
>I can’t shake the feeling that I brought this on my self  
>I brought this on Moonglow  
>What where they doing to him?  
>Surly this was punishment for trying to communicate  
>Would they isolate him?  
>Beat him?  
>Shock him?  
>My mind races with the possibilities  
>Whatever they do to him is because of me  
>I should never have tried to talk with him  
>Suddenly the worst fate comes to mind  
>They’ve done it to both of us to a lesser extent  
>What if they go all the way?  
>What if they lobotomize him?  
>Images flash through my mind  
>Some husk of a thing, just lying there  
>Barely thinking  
>Waiting to die  
>And it will all be my fault  
>No  
>No!  
>I slam myself against the door  
>With all the air in my lungs I neigh as loud as I can  
>Take me instead  
>Frantic, I begin to bang my head against the door and neigh  
>Do it to me, please spare him  
>Head-butt the door as hard as I can  
>It’s my fault  
“Nick give me a hand with this one!”  
>A technician comes into view, holding a syringe  
>Yes, take me  
>I deserve it, leave Moonglow  
>Nick shows up, cattle prod in hand  
>He plunges it though the bars and drives me to the back of the cage  
>The tech opens the door and Nick holds me back with the prod  
>He injects me with the contents of the needle  
>And then he pulls away  
>No  
>Take me  
>Whatever you are doing to Moonglow you can do to me!  
>Please…  
>I try to move forward but the drug takes effect quickly  
>What was intended to be a frantic lung turns to a sluggish roll  
>My entire body feels like it’s made of lead  
>Nick gives me one last jolt before slamming the cage shut  
>Without a word they leave me  
>My body can hardly move  
>All I can do at this point is cry  
>Cry and hope Moonglow will be alright  
>...  
>Time starts to blend together  
>How long has it been?  
>It feels like weeks, but I know it hasn’t been a day  
>Even once the drugs wear off I can’t bring myself to move  
>There is nothing worth doing  
>A tech came by and cleaned Moonglow’s pen  
>The took his towel and effaced what remained of his sent  
>All that’s left when they are done is the clinical smell of cleaning agent  
>Is he gone for good?  
>No  
>No, he can’t be  
>I remind myself of what Kyle said  
>’he’ll be back tomorrow’  
>Tomorrow  
>I just have to make it to tomorrow  
>With a sigh I stand up and lean against the divider  
>He’ll be back  
>He’ll be back tomorrow  
>I hear footsteps approaching the door  
>There is a muffled neigh  
>It’s Moonglow!  
>I know it’s him  
>The lock clicks  
>Slowly the door swings open  
>I neigh  
>Moonglow!  
>…  
>My heart sinks at the sight of the tech  
>He is carrying a unicorn  
>But it is not Moonglow  
>It’s an Orange mare  
>My god!  
>What have they done to her?  
>Her coat is patched and mangy  
>She takes short labored breaths and twitches sporadically  
>Suddenly the Green mare calls out  
>The unicorn gives a wary reply as the tech carries her to her cell  
>He flumps her apathetically into the metal cage, then locks her in and walks away  
>The green mare prods her friend  
>Slowly the orange unicorn raises her head and begins to nuzzle her partner  
>lacking the strength to keep her head up right for long, the unicorn lays down  
>Still pressing her nose through the bars  
>The green pony does likewise  
>It’s not long until they both fall asleep, still nuzzling each other through the bars  
>The day marches on at an excruciatingly slow pace  
>After some time I find myself rubbing my head on the divider  
>Every now and then I swear I can feel him  
>He’s soft, warm fur pressing through the bars  
>Occasionally I hear him nicker or neigh for me  
>I’ll neigh back, calling for him  
>Every time the door opens I think it’s him  
>Every time, I am disappointed  
>When I close my eyes it’s almost like he’s there, beside me, just out of reach  
>I try to go to him, but when I move closer the cage stops me  
>The cage always stops me  
>Things slow down as it gets late  
>I overhear techs talking of dinner plans, hanging out, going home to their families.  
>It must be getting close to bed time  
>A tech goes down the row and checks all of the cages  
>He’s just about to turn off the lights when Kyle walks in  
“I’ll finish up for you, there’s one last thing I need to do”  
>”Suit yourself”  
>The tech walks out as Kyle walks to me  
“Hey Lightning, how’s it going?”  
>He sticks his finger though the bars and scratches my nose  
>Moonglow!  
>It’s real this time, he smells like Moonglow  
“You can smell him on me, can’t you?”  
>I nod and look at him expectantly  
“He’s alright, having a bit of a bad reaction to what we gave him, but he’ll be fine. He misses you too”  
>He sighs  
“I wish they would let you all be together, those horse instincts have to make isolation ten times worse”  
>Horse instincts?  
>I cock my head and try to wright in the air  
>I fail like before, but Kyle gets the question  
“Yeah, it’s not just your body, the bacteriophage got into your brain too”  
>Bacteriophage?  
>Is that how they did it?  
“You see a bacteriophage is a special kind of virus, it injects its DNA into bacteria and takes over. We came up with our own special type that works on large animals. It’s going to revolutionize medicine.”  
>By turning people into horses?  
>I look at him like the madman he is  
“Don’t give me that look! I wasn’t the one who made it, it was Doctor Phisher, well...”  
>Kyle shrugs  
“I’m sure he just has other things on his mind, he’ll come up with a way to reverse it, he just needs a little more time”  
>Yeah, right  
>And then he’ll give all of us a million dollars  
“Any way, I snagged this for you, to help get you through your first night without your friend  
>He pulls out a lock of white hair, held together by a twist tie  
>Its Moonglow’s, I can tell by the smell  
>Kyle passes it though the bars  
>I take it and hold it with my lips  
“He’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. Good night Lightning”  
>He turns and leaves, shutting off the lights on his way out  
>I turn back and place the lock of hair in the back corner  
>Once I have it situated I begin to nuzzle it  
>It’s so soft, and it smells like Moonglow  
>He’ll be back tomorrow morning  
>Hopefully...

>My ears perk up at the sound of nickering  
>I lift myself up and see Moonglow sitting on the floor  
>The door to my cage is open  
>All the cages are open and empty  
>Moonglow nickers again and moves that I follow him  
>As I jump down he begins to prance towards the door  
>He maintains a speedy clip as he leads me down the hallway  
>We exit the building and begin following a path through the forest  
>I take a moment to appreciate the stars when Moonglow puffs playfully  
>He takes off at a full gallop  
>I chase after him, doing my best to match his speed  
>His path is erratic, going on and off trail, dodging trees and jumping over logs  
>I do my best to cut him off, taking shortcuts where I can  
>The trees begin to thin and the chase turns into a measure of pure speed  
>The forest gives way completely to grassland  
>Moonglow’s intentions seem to shift  
>Though he’s still playful, I can tell he has a place he wants to show me  
>The chase was merely diversion  
>I see a lone hill up ahead  
>Moonglow glances over his shoulder at me  
>He slows as we reach the top of the hill  
>I playfully tackle him once I catch up  
>He falls to his side without resistance  
>I lay on top of him with a victorious smirk on my face  
>His soft smile confirms that this was a calculated loss on his part  
>Nonetheless, As the victor I claim my prize  
>I press my nose against his neck and begin to nuzzle him relentlessly  
>His giggles and squirms fall on deaf ears, no mercy will be shown tonight  
>I slowly work my way up the side of his head  
>Finally I reach my target, his ears  
>I give them a playful nibble before showing them the same harsh treatment I gave Moonglow’s neck  
>The torment became too much for him to endure  
>He turned his head and surrendered his muzzle to me  
>Satisfied with the show of submission I lay down next to him and pull him into a hug  
>As a cool breeze blows through I instinctively wrap my wings around us like a blanket  
>I gently press my nose up against his and look into his eyes  
>His blue eyes sparkle with starlight  
>We cuddle up, drawing each other closer in  
>It’s wonderful, to feel his warm soft fur without the cold hard steel cage between us  
>He dips his snout under my chin and I lean forward and sniff is mane  
>It has such a comforting smell  
>Suddenly The world becomes brighter, harsher  
>The soft grass become cold and hard  
>I feel Moonglow evaporating  
>A sharp stinging pain in my flank brings me back to reality  
>The jolt of electricity surges through my thigh  
>My head slams into the back of the cage as I leap away from the prod  
>With my body pressed against the back wall I look out and see Nick standing there  
>He flashes a smug, satisfied smile and continues his unending quest to make our lives hell  
>I stand as far as the low ceiling will allow me to  
>It’s morning  
>To my disappointment Moonglow has not been returned  
>I press my eyes shut and shake my head in an effort to dispel my headache  
>Memories of last night’s dream come back to me  
>It all felt so real, the grass, the wind, Moonglow…  
>I wonder if this is a side effect of what they did to me, or simply the byproduct of my isolation  
>As I turn back to the corner I notice the absence of Moonglow’s mane  
>I franticly search the full square meter of cage I have  
>Not seeing it anywhere I glance down the drain  
>All I can see is darkness…  
>I go over the cage several times hoping that I somehow overlooked it  
>I check under the towel several times, I try to move the food bowls but they seem to be stuck to the cage  
>Eventually I start to calm back down  
>It’s going to be Ok Lightning, Moonglow is coming back this morning  
>Lightning…  
>I just called myself Lightning  
>My name is not Lightning it’s…  
>It’s…  
>I rack my brain for the answer  
>That word that identified me for the past 23 years of my life  
>All I can come up with is ‘Lightning’  
>Lightning Bolt  
>My name is Lightning  
>Panic starts to sink in  
>I close my eyes and run through the faces of everyone I knew  
>Which ones are my parents, which one is my brother?  
>My bother? Or was it my sister?  
>Did I have any siblings at all?  
>I can’t match faces to names, they all just run together  
>The only exceptions are Kyle, Nick, and Moonglow  
>I sink to the floor and stare out  
>All I can do is wait for them to bring Moonglow back  
>A tech comes by and tops off my food and water, I’ve hardly touched either  
>They give me a look and write something on a clip board  
>I get the feeling I’ve just been added to a list  
>Several ponies came and went  
>Most of the ones who returned brought little comfort  
>One was completely non-responsive, simply laying in his cage staring at his neighbor  
>Another sobbed and wept uncontrollably for hours  
>Some of them would spasm at random intervals  
>Finally Kyle walks in with Moonglow  
“Here we are, safe and sound”  
>Moonglow’s face lights up as he sees me waiting  
>Once Moonglow is inside, we go straight to nuzzle each other through the bars  
>Out of the corner of my eye I see Kyle talking to the listless pony from earlier  
>Moonglow nips my ear to draw me back  
>We spend the remainder of the day cuddling through the bars

 

>The day’s grind on, each as boring as the last  
>My only reprieve for the monotony of the kennels are Moonglow and the occasional visit from Kyle  
>Every few days they take a water hose and go down the row, cleaning us and our cages  
>I keep hoping they will let us out to exercise, or socialize, or anything other than sit in cages all day  
>The days all melt together, I think it was a week and a half when Nick pulled me out of my pen  
>He reached in and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, hand clenched as hard as he could  
>To my relief he supported my hindquarters as he carried me to my destination  
>I am then locked in an even smaller cage with an IV in me  
>The IV delivers some form of stimulant, keeping me awake at all times  
>They provide a modified version of Simon for me to play  
>Every time I lose an electrode administers a power shock  
>It’s been three days since they put me in here  
>No food. No water. No sleep.  
>My entire body aches, my head feels like it’s about to explode.  
>I press my eyes closed in an effort to find reprieve from their constant burning  
>An electric jolt rocks my body  
>My eyes flutter open, but I don’t bother to check the new pattern  
>The next jolt is even stronger  
>My vision dims, my head falls limply back down  
>Another pulse, and another  
>They slowly become a continuous current  
>My body twitches and squirms, but eventually I lose consciousness all together  
>I wake up in my cage, next to Moonglow  
>We begin our usual cuddle session  
>It’s the only thing keeping us sane at this point

>A few weeks later a tech pulls me out of my cage again  
>They promptly slip a muzzle and blindfold onto me  
>I’ve been taught to offer no resistance or they will hand me straight over to Nick  
>Without eyesight I can’t tell where they are taking me  
>After several minutes of walking we go through another door  
>The tech lays me on a table and straps me down on my side  
>They don’t just bind my legs, they strap down my head, wings, and torso  
>I whence as I feel a cold, hard, razor blade press against my skin  
>To my relief they don’t cut into me, yet  
>After they shave my stomach it occurs to me that they are working over the same area where Moonglow has his scar  
>My breath quickens and I begin to struggle against the binding  
>They inject something into my flank and my limbs go limp  
>Though I am unable to move I can still feel the razor passing over me, and the sting of the needle when they put an IV in me  
>Once they are done shaving I feel a cold wet cloth press against my skin  
>I tense up in anticipation as I hear them pick up the scalpel  
>I take a sharp breath as I feel the blade press through my skin  
>They slowly pull it back, inch by inch, as I try to scream through the muzzle  
>The skin is pined back and I feel a hand being inserted into the wound  
>Every motion was agony as they probed around  
>They would squeeze and pod my organs, checking them  
>At long last the hand pulled out  
>I could hear them talk, but my mind did not register what they were saying  
>If not for the restraints I would be a writhing sobbing mess  
>But instead I lay there, quietly weeping through the blindfold  
>Suddenly the hand presses back in, through the torment I can tell they are holding something solid  
>They work it around, finally situating it inside me  
>Again they pull away  
>This time they begin to sew the gash closed  
>My eyes widen in horror as they grab my scrotum  
>They make an incision and insert some type of clamp  
>I take a sharp breath as the clamp crushes down on my cord  
>They repeat the prosses on the other one  
>They finish up and unbind me  
>I have no fight left in me, all I can do is lye there and snivel  
>My mind clears enough to hear what they are saying  
>”I’m getting data off him, we’re good to go”  
>One of them picks me up and carries me back into the hall  
>Every motion is agonizing as I’m carried away  
>They carelessly drop me back into my cage and pull my muzzle off  
>Immediately I begin to scream and cry  
>The shows mild annoyance at my outburst and leaves the room  
>I continue to scream until my throat is raw  
>Then I collapse and cry myself to sleep

>The weeks draw into months  
>Everything becomes routine  
>Experiment, a week or two off, Experiment, week off…  
>Even Kyle’s visits become routine  
>He would feed us treats, pet us, and spout some dribble about how we’ll help mankind  
>The only real variation was in my dreams  
>I was always with Moonglow, but we would do different things, be in different places  
>We would be in the mountains, in the forest, at the beach  
>They were always so real  
>Moonglow would always smile at me when we woke up  
>I began to suspect we were having a shared dream somehow  
>All I know is they make existence tolerable and Moonglow had a similar coping mechanism  
>Kyle seems to be losing his coping mechanism  
>His motivational speeches become less and less heartfelt as time progresses  
>One day Kyle gives me this dreadful look and walks out without talking  
>A few hours later two techs come in  
>They take me and the mint green pony to another room  
>They have three syringes already prepared, along with two small kennels  
>These had clear plastic instead of bars, and had an air filter attached to them  
>”So which one gets the vaccine?”  
>The other tech shrugged and pulled out a coin  
>”Heads the stallion, tails the mare”  
>They flip it  
>”Heads, he gets it”  
>They take one of the syringes and inject me with it  
>”Todays your lucky day”  
>”Assuming that it work”  
>They inject both of us with the other two syringes and put us into the tanks  
>After a few hours my chest begins to tighten, and my head begins to pound  
>Every time I cough pain shoots through my entire body  
>The mare in the tank next to me is already in far worse condition  
>She’s lying on the floor coughing uncontrollably  
>At random intervals she’ll breakout into a seizure  
>Blood is running from her nose, even when she isn’t having a full seizure she shivers and squirms  
>I start to level off as the day goes on, while she continues to deteriorate  
>Her seizures become more frequent and violent, her cough becomes far worse  
>When she can she’ll just sit there and stare at me  
>Her eyes say it all, it was me and not you  
>Not an accusation, just a statement  
>I give her a sympathetic look and we both nod understandingly  
>What happened here was pure luck, nothing else about it  
>By the time the lights go off she had begun coughing up blood  
>I close my eyes and try to sleep  
>The lights come back on the next morning  
>I feel fine, whatever they gave me has passed through my system  
>My heart stops as turn to look at the Mare next to me  
>She’s lying there convulsing in a bloody heap  
>Blood is coming from everywhere, her nose, her mouth, her eyes  
>The techs glance at her and then back to me  
>They write something on a clipboard then open my cage and take a blood sample  
>The two of them chatter carelessly, almost happily as they go about their work  
>They flick a switch on the air unite for the mare’s tank  
>A pail smoke begins to fill her enclosure  
>Her body begins to relax and she closes her eyes  
>After a few seconds she stops breathing and they carry the tank away  
>A few hours later Kyle comes in and takes me  
>He whispers into my ear  
“Tomorrow. This all ends Tomorrow”  
>He doesn’t say another word after that  
>Even as he puts me back in my cage he remains silent and straight faced  
>The lock clicks and he turns and walks away, shutting off the lights behind him  
>Moonglow and I exchange glances, clearly something had sent Kyle over the edge  
>The language he used was somewhat alarming, far more oblique than his usual banter and exposition  
>I offer Moonglow a shrug, whatever he has planned for tomorrow it’s beyond our control  
>Moonglow and I snuggle up against the barrier for the night  
>So long as we’re together that’s all I care about anymore  
>My sleep is disturbed by the door unlocking  
>Is it morning already?  
>The lights flash on and techs quickly fill the room  
>The begin unlocking the wheels of the kennels and pushing them out into the hall  
>I hear commotion going on outside  
>The smell of burning paper wafts into the room  
>Nether Kyle nor Nick are anywhere to be found  
>The techs systematically remove each of the kennels  
>I try to pick up on what’s going on, but the chatter of the workers and the confused sounds of ponies’ meld together in an unintelligible cacophony  
>Finally a tech begins to roll our kennel out into the hallway  
>We’re definitely being moved somewhere, is this what Kyle meant?  
>As we’re pushed through the hall I see people franticly gathering up paper and computers, dumping them into trash cans  
>The pungent odor of kerosene mingles with the scent of burning paper  
>They’re going to torch the place, hopefully with us outside it  
>We finally come to a loading area, I can make out Kyle and Nick up ahead  
>As we pass by them a man in a suit speaks  
>”Hold up, we’re going to need an empty cage in a moment”  
>He looks like he’s in his mid-forties, his Brown hair is starting to grey and his thick glasses suggest vision problems  
>He’s holding a container of brown fluid in one hand and a coffee cup in the other  
>I notice that Nick has Kyle by the neck  
>The man turns back to them and addresses Nick  
>”Why don’t you have a drink Nick, it’s late and we have a long drive ahead of us”  
>Nick nods and takes the cup  
>”So where am I riding, doctor?” He asks as he takes a sip  
>He begins to cough violently and the doctor takes the cup from him  
>”Oh you’ll be riding with these three” He gestures to Moonglow and I, then to Kyle  
>”Sorry Nick, hate to do this to you, but you’re a security risk”  
>Nick falls to the floor as black fur sprouts across his body  
>”And you Kyle, you were going to leak information sooner or later”  
>He throws the rest of the coffee in Kyle’s face  
>Instantly yellow fur sprouts across his face and neck  
>Nick has begun to neigh, and his voice is becoming higher, more feminine  
>He’s short blond hair is growing into a long red mane  
>Kyle for his part remained silent throughout the ordeal  
>He had begun to grow a snout and ears, his brown hair had become a light purple  
>”Well, what are you waiting for? Get them loaded, I want to be in Mexico by sunrise”  
>The doctor walked off as the tech dragged Kyle and Nick into the cages below us  
>We’re Loaded onto a semi-trailer with the rest of the ponies  
>The tech secures the kennel with straps and closes the door behind him  
>After a moment the truck lurches forward and we begin our journey  
>I do my best to get back to sleep, but between the rough ride in the truck and Nick’s incessant crying I have little luck  
>Honestly I do feel bad for Nick, just a little  
>Shure he was an abusive asshat who should probably go to prison, but…  
>Yeah no, I don’t feel sorry for him, not a bit  
>I do feel sorry for Kyle, he has been turned into a pony and has to spend the rest of his life in a cage next to Nick  
>A fate worse than death  
>Unable to return to sleep I press my legs against the walls in an effort to lock myself in place  
>We aren’t taking the highway that’s for sure  
>Most of the trip sounds like gravel or dirt roads, lots of tight turns  
>Hours pass when we suddenly hit a major bump that sends me flying  
>The truck lurches to one side and the slams to a halt, tossing Moonglow and I up against our cages  
>I hear the cab doors opening, I can make out the doctor’s voice but I can’t tell what he’s saying  
>He sounds panicked as he shouts at someone, probably the driver  
>He starts coughing violently, as does the other person  
>After a moment the coughing turns into neighing  
>Then the neighing moves away…  
>Moonglow and I exchange concerned looks, then we wait  
>And wait…  
>Through a crack in the door I can see sunlight peeking through  
>I watch as the day slowly passes by, going from morning, then noon, and finally night again  
>The other ponies have all fallen silent  
>We all grasp what has happened  
>No one knows where we are  
>No one is going to get us out of here  
>No one is going to bring us food  
>No one cares…  
>I nuzzle Moonglow through the bars  
>These stupid fucking bars  
>For once I would like to touch Moonglow without the bars being in the way  
>Just once, before we die  
>I look at him, his eyes sparkling in the dim light  
>his fur is matted and shaggy, the soft blue fur has come off in patches, giving way to scarred and irritated skin  
>Putting that from my mind, I think of the moonlit field of my dreams...  
>The warm breeze and soft grass  
>His body against mine...  
>Maybe well be there soon  
>I don't have enough energy to hold my eyes open  
>I take one last look at Moonglow  
>The darkness starts to creep in  
>Soon all I can distinguishes is the silver of his mane and the sparkle of his eyes  
>Then even that fades to black.  


 

  



End file.
